“I will see you at funeral.”
As promised, I meet my friend at cemetery. After attending one funeral, she explained the funeral procedure to me and showed me the organ. It is an electronic organ, but with 2 manuals and pedal, about 20 stops. For the little chapel at cemetery the organ is more than enough. And one good thing about electronic organ is, it is seldom out of tune. I do not really like to play on electronic organ, but I will just play wherever live music is still wanted. Above all, it is a very meaningful job to prepare the departure music for the family members of the deceased. Later, I was being introduced to different funeral parlours that I am the new funeral organist.
At time like this, where live music is not allowed everywhere, but it is allowed in funeral. On the same day, a friend told me that Heidelberg Spring Music Festival has been cancelled. These two incidents remind me of a Japanese movie – Departures.
Many of you certainly have watched the film. If you have not watched it, please prepare a box of tissue when you watch the film. This is a story about a fine cellist called Daigo suddenly become jobless as his orchestra has been dissolved. Which is the reality today for many musicians. He moved back to his hometown with his wife to get a new orientation or a new job to start over. There he “accidentally” bumped into a funeral parlour, and start working there.
Surprisingly, he gradually likes his new job despites others despised the job. The climax is, he received the notice to perform departure ritual for his father. He never see his father again since he was six years old and he hate him. He still has the chance for a send-off and to reconcile with father (well, not really), and he will soon become a father too.
Even though I agreed, but still I avoid to say verse like “everything is happening for a reason”, “put myself in someone’s shoes” when people are suffering. The reason is I might have experienced the similar thing, but it is still a very different shoe than mine that I never know how it exactly feel like. However, in case like Daigo, to reconcile with his father is ultimately meaningful.
The story ends with a new life is being nurtured in his wife. The movie did not tell us, but who knows may be someday he will perform cello again?
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